ABDM – Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission – FAQs – Know About ABDM
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), is a Government of India initiative, aimed at developing the backbone for a unified digital health infrastructure. Among other objectives, ABDM seeks to bridge the gap amongst multiple stakeholders that are a part of the healthcare ecosystem.
The key components of the PM-DHM include a Health ID — unique 14-digit health identification number — for every citizen that will also work as their health account. The health ID will enable access and exchange of health records of citizens with their consent.
The Health ID will be created by using a person’s basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar number. The personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application, a Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR), and a Healthcare Facilities Registry (HFR).
Frequently Asked Questions on ABDM
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It aims to bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.
Anyone who wishes to participate in ABDM and have their health records available digitally must start by creating a Health ID. Health ID is a randomly generated 14 digit number used for the purposes of uniquely identifying persons, authenticating them, and threading their health records (only with their informed consent) across multiple systems and stakeholders.
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Health Information Exchange & Consent Manager (HIE-CM) refers to consent manager that enables consent management, and sharing & linking of personal health records for a user. ABDM has rolled out its own HIE-CM (Health Records Application). You can use your Health ID to sign up on the HIE-CM (Health Records Application). Multiple consent managers are likely to be available for patients to choose from in the near future.
You can get a Health ID by self-registration on the Health ID web portal or by downloading ABDM Health Records application from the Google Playstore. You can register here ABDM Health ID or download the Mobile application here Health Records. You may also request for creation of your Health ID at a participating health facility, which may include public/private hospitals, community health centre, health and wellness centres across India.
For Health ID creation through Mobile Number- Name, Year of Birth, Gender, Address, Mobile Number. For Health ID creation through Aadhaar- Name, Year of Birth, Gender, Address, Mobile Number, Aadhaar Number
No. The process of generation of Health ID involves voluntary usage of Aadhaar. If you do not want to use your Aadhaar for Health ID creation, you can simply use your Mobile Number accompanied with self declared information.
If you use your Aadhaar Number to create your Health ID on the Health ID portal, an OTP will be sent to the Mobile Number linked to your Aadhaar. If your Aadhaar is not linked to any mobile number, it is suggested that you visit the nearest participating facility, and opt for biometric authentication using Aadhaar Number. After successful authentication, you will obtain a Health ID at the facility itself.
Currently, ABDM supports Health ID creation via Mobile or Aadhaar. ABDM will soon roll out features that will support Health ID creation with other ID documents such as PAN card, Driving License, etc. in assisted mode at participating health facilities
The Section 7 of the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019 clearly states that “Every Aadhaar number holder to establish his identity, may voluntarily use his Aadhaar number in physical or electronic form by way of authentication or offline verification, or in such other form as may be notified, in such manner as may be specified by regulations.” The Aadhaar Act provides for the use of Aadhaar number as proof of identity of a person, subject to authentication.
However, the mandate of mandatory linkage of Aadhaar is restricted to availing only Direct Benefits Transfers (DBTs) and it can’t be for any other purpose. Thus, Aadhaar number holders may only voluntarily use Aadhaar Number to establish their identity. Therefore, a distinct, independent, unique identifier is required to be identified as a Health ID and hence, the health ID is different from the Aadhar ID and one should not be confused for the other. In the pilot, Health ID can be created and linked to the Aadhaar or an individual’s mobile number, as per his/her convenience.
ABDM is working towards introducing more ID documents to allow users to create their Health ID using other ID documents such as Driving License, PAN Card, Passport etc.Currently, Health ID is also linked to a PHR Application using easy to remember Health ID alias / PHR Address (e.g. xyz@ndhm) which enables a user to access/share health records and provide/revoke consent for data sharing. Going forward, it is proposed to make e-KYC mandatory for creation of Health ID and discontinue Health ID creation via mobile as a move towards creating a trustable and verified ID.
Your Health ID is created by using your basic details in addition to your Mobile Number or Aadhaar Number. Your Health ID will be unique to you, and you will have the option to link all your health records to the Health ID. You can also choose to create multiple IDs to link different sets of health records with different Health IDs, however, it is recommended that you create only one Health ID.
ABDM associates high value with a user’s privacy. ABDM believes that users are rightful custodians of their data, and can make rational decisions associated with its use. Given that healthcare is a sensitive subject, ABDM does not want to restrict users from linking different sets of health data with different Health IDs.
For instance, if a user wants to use a separate Health ID to access data related to their sexual history, ABDM will allow for such use.However, in order to establish a better continuum of care, it is recommended that users create & use only one Health ID. A unified longitudinal health history linked to a single Health ID can lead to informed healthcare decisions for a user.
Complete registration takes less than 10 minutes as you are only required to fill your basic details,an authenticate your Mobile Number or Aadhaar Number.
As part of the existing process, you are not required to submit any physical documents anywhere. Enrolment of Health ID is paperless and hassle free. ABDM will soon be rolling out a feature to support Health ID creation in low resource settings in a paper based manner. However, the scope of the said process may be restricted only to delivery of government health benefit schemes.
ABDM does not store any of your health records. Your health records are stored with healthcare information providers as per their retention policies, and are shared over the ABDM network with encryption mechanisms only after your express consent.
You may login to your Health ID through Mobile OTP or Aadhaar linked Mobile OTP, as applicable, and set a new password. In case of persisting issues, please contact us at [email protected] or call us on our toll free number – 1800-11-4477 / 14477
If you have been locked out of your Health ID account via Password, you can try other modes of authentication for login. One method of authentication (Password/ Mobile OTP/ Aadhaar OTP) gets disabled for 12 hours) on three consecutive incorrect attempts at a time. In this case, you can use the remaining methods to login, as applicable. However, you will not be able to login for 12 hours after you have been locked out from all three methods of login.
ABDM now supports a feature that enables any participating user to opt out of the ABDM ecosystem. On availing the feature, a user can permanently delete or temporarily deactivate their Health ID.
In case of deactivation, a user can later choose to reactivate their Health ID.
On deletion, your Health ID will be permanently deleted, along with all your demographic details. You will not be able to retrieve any information tagged to your Health ID in future. You will never be able to access ABDM applications or any health records over the ABDM network with your deleted Health ID.
On deactivation, you will lose access to all ABDM applications for the period of deactivation. Until you reactivate your Health ID, you will not be able to share your Health ID at any health facility or share your health records over the ABDM network.
To learn more about ABDM, visit https://ndhm.gov.in/